Drinking can be fun and very entertaining given one is of legal drinking age, but it seems that schools have been having a drinking problem among their students. 16% of students 12-20  have  reported drinking and out of ten teens drink.

An anonymous source revealed this information: “I do it most days and it’s honestly not that hard to get away with. If someone gets caught drinking it’s probably because they drank too much and got too drunk. But for me, I can handle my liquor.” 

One DHS student admitted to drinking at school and never getting caught.  With this ongoing problem, who knows how many students put their life at risk when they are drinking at the school? It has been shown that 17 percent of teen car accidents have been caused due to drinking and driving.  

Some students don’t drink just to have fun, some do it because they are sad or feeling something of that sort. “I was feeling sad and depressed and wanted to feel numb, so I got my hands on strong alcohol and I just started drinking it, but it ended up being stronger than I thought. I was worried that I was going to get caught, but somehow I didn’t get into trouble and because of that I honestly feel like I can do it again, but I probably won’t just because I feel like if I keep doing that it will end up messing up my future,” said a student who would like to remain anonymous. 

When drinking alcohol out of sadness, one’s mental state could be affected in bad ways, said a Delta High school counselor, Shawna Magtutu. “[The] Emotion of sadness creates a chemical change In the brain and so does alcohol. So when you have two negative reactions, it can have a severe challenge to your coping mechanism  and how you deal in situations. At a  healthy choices stand point, there is always going to be some type of stress out there from school or family and the more we can learn about positive tools to deal with that stress the more successful we will be in the future; because when you first endure that stress then turn to a negative skill, it reinforces your brian to think that’s the only tool it needs to help it.” 

According to another counselor that specializes in effects of substances to the brain, Zack. Thomas explained the effects of alcohol to the brain:”When you drink alcohol, it affects your frontal courtel which effects your choice-making decisions. It also affects your motor control, thalamus, which is your emotions and memory”

Abusing alcohol is a serious problem and especially when it’s at school, drinking at a young age in high school could lead to bad binge drinking habits later on in life. Some universities,DePauw University, have already reported instances of sorts. The whole story solutions journalism explains their research in their article,“We are really scared to talk about it, ” explains the drinking problem with college students. According to the article: “In past years, the college had made the Princeton Review’s list of top-20 party schools. Nationwide, roughly 32 percent of college students reported that they regularly binge drink, according to a reporting by Douglas’ students.” 

     But there are solutions to situations like that to help keep students safe and away from alcohol. 

The first thing the school can do is to talk with their students and explain and help teens to understand the risks. The school should also try to notice behavior changes in students. 

A blog,”Stop teenage drinking,” explains some effects of teen drinking that teachers and staff could probably start to notice: “Falling grades, cutting ties with old friends, or losing interest in a favorite sport.” 

      But it shouldn’t just be the school that gets involved. Parents and guardians need to put in more effort to prevent these teens from participating in these actions. They will not only help and keep their own children safe, but they will also help keep other teens and students safe.